Entrepreneurship researcher Johan Wiklund began researching mental health issues due to a family experience. He began looking for ways in which ADHD is a positive experience for people who have it. Very quickly, he began noticing a link between ADHD and entrepreneurship, so he began a research study on the matter.
An ADHD diagnosis does not mean the end of learning. Rather, the beginning of excelling.
There are positives to ADHD as children grow to become successful adults.
Wiklund believes that hyperactivity and impulsivity, two hallmark symptoms of ADHD, can actually be a positive attribute for entrepreneurs. Impulsiveness makes people with ADHD take risks in situations that those without it might not. David Neeleman of JetBlue and Virgin owner Richard Branson are two entrepreneurs who have been officially diagnosed with ADHD.
But it is impulsivity that triggers people with ADHD to act and take risks where other people would wait and see.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Key takeaways
- Entrepreneurship researcher Johan Wiklund has found that ADHD can be a positive influence on entrepreneurship.
- ADHD is associated with impulsivity, which can help entrepreneurs with ADHD take risks that others wouldn’t and lead to larger payoffs, but if the associated symptoms become too extreme it can lead to downsides.
- Famous entrepreneurs who have ADHD include Richard Branson of Virgin and David Neeleman of JetBlue.
Explore Focus Foundations
Is your child struggling in school?
Get your free personalized learning roadmap
You describe what you see at home. We turn it into a plan you start this week.
- Answer 5 short questionnaires about what you already notice, 30–45 minutes at your own kitchen table
- Your child sits no test and gets no score: nothing to schedule, nothing for them to dread
- You do the answering, the AI does the writing, and a person reviews it before it reaches you
- Access all 40+ courses instantly: reading, math, focus, processing and more, with new ones added regularly
Why we use AI, plainly: it writes from a knowledge base our team maintains and audits. We work through it line by line and pull anything the evidence stops supporting. The roadmap you get on Tuesday reflects what we corrected on Monday, and a human still reads it before you do.
Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.
Your answers stay yours. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not hand identifiable assessment data to outside AI companies to train their models.
A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.
